When everyone heard that we were all going to Senegal, Africa, everyone was interested in the idea of going to Africa. Everybody had concerns about being able to enter in a totally different world, but at the same time, every single one of the crew was just waiting to step foot on land... especially after our long days of sailing. We were all looking forward to seeing Senegal with our own eyes. After enduring a smooth sail, we arrived on Christmas morning.

As you might be aware of, Senegal is well known as the largest French speaking country in west part of Africa. It is situated on the northwest coast. Senegal's capital and the largest well known city, Dakar, was founded in 1857 as French port. The city developed rapidly and now it is very popular because of its tourist attractions. Thanks to our visit in Dakar and a lecture by Doctor Ndongo, we had learned that the name Senegal could have originated from a few words, including Zenega (a Berber word), Sunu Gaal (which meant "our boats") and Siin Ghaan (an Arabic description of its location).

My reflection on any African country, especially a country like Senegal, is much deeper and more expressive than for anywhere else we had have been to in the last four months. While we staying in Dakar, it was quite interesting for various reasons. One of the reasons that made visiting Senegal interesting is that I was born in Africa and I lived there until I was fourteen, when I moved to Canada. Since I moved to Canada, I have never stepped back on the soil of my homeland, Uganda, Africa. When we reached Dakar, it had felt like I was back in Uganda, where I had spent my childhood. I must say though, we experienced different lifestyles and cultures in Darker. We learned Senegalese traditional dances, and more importantly we spent lots of time with the Senegalese university students and the local villagers, which played a huge role in our experience.

From our experience in Senegal, my perspective has changed very dramatically in a way that has made me start viewing the world very differently. I mean, there are always changes wherever you go, but Africa caught my true attention. In all the areas that we went to in Africa, people were very welcoming. They always had a smile on their faces and more importantly their community had the purpose of connecting one another.

I also liked the way people interacted with one another. My intention is to adopt such a lifestyle and try to carry on back to North America. Although, not everyone in America would accept such a lifestyle, some would consider adopting into it. The reason why I would do such thing is because I see North America as a well developed world, but I can imagine if everyone could have the kind of norms that Senegal's people demonstrated to us. Looking at Africa, it is considered an undeveloped world but it is ironic to see people display so much positivism to others, even when they don't know what the future will bring them tomorrow. Such a community defines the true meaning of my life in a way that makes me care less about personal assets but focus more on discovering physical happiness in this material world.

For everyone on board, what we all got out of the trip is the connectedness that we all felt back in Dakar with each other and the people we met. This perhaps, will remain the most memorable experience for us all.